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India clash with Japan
in World Cup qualifier ICC bid to resolve Zimbabwe crisis
Balaji trying to “master” line
and length |
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Bangladesh collapse to innings defeat
Euro 2004: France-England tie to set tone
Usha may run in Olympic torch relay Village girls to vie for top honours
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India clash with Japan in World Cup qualifier
Hong Kong, June 8 Three of Asia’s strongest sides — Japan, South Korea and China — head into the latest round brimming with confidence after recent morale-boosting victories over European opposition. Japan are likely to extend their lead at the top of group 3 and maintain their 100 per cent start to qualifying when they take on India in Saitama. The Japanese have just returned home from a successful tour of Europe which included an impressive victory over the Czech Republic in Prague and a 1-1 draw with England in Manchester last week. Japan’s coach Zico has seen injuries deprive him of key players, including Europe-based stars Hidetoshi Nakata and Junichi Inamoto. But the Brazilian legend is confident his side will be too strong for India and has been toying with a six-man attack in training. Nevertheless Zico has warned Japan against complacency. “We must forget everything about playing squarely against European powerhouses, not to become overconfident. If we underestimate India, we will have a slap in the face,” Zico warned. “We must be patient to score and try to put pressure on them from the very beginning of the game.” A total of 32 teams split into eight groups of four are taking part in Asia’s World Cup qualifying tournament. The eight group winners advance to final qualifying next year. In other matches tomorrow, coachless South Korea play Vietnam looking for a victory to preserve their lead at the top of group 7. South Korea, who reached the semifinals of the World Cup two years ago, have had a shaky spell culminating in a humiliating 0-0 draw against the Maldives in their most recent qualifier in March. That result led to the sacking of coach Humberto Coelho, but a 2-1 win over Turkey last Saturday has restored some confidence. In group 4, meanwhile, China should have little difficulty in overcoming Malaysia in Tianjin to make it three wins out of three. China, coached by legendary former Dutch international Arie Haan, bounced back from a disastrous tour of Europe earlier this year to post a 2-1 victory over Hungary last week. Haan, who is also building towards July’s Asian Cup to be hosted by China, said the win over the Hungarians had sent confidence pumping through his team. “The excitement from the victory against Hungary is still in the team and will continue against Malaysia,” said Haan, a member of the legendary ‘total football’ Netherlands teams of the 1970s. Ten Sports will telecast live the match, which begins at 4 p.m. IST. — AFP
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ICC bid to resolve Zimbabwe crisis
Kolkata, June 8 Confirming his participation, Dalmiya said the ICC as well as the parties involved in the dispute wanted him to attend the extraordinary meeting, called by ICC President Ehsan Mani. Apart from Dalmiya, Cricket Australia’s Bob Merriman, United Cricket Board of South Africa President Raymond Mali and some of the leading Zimbabwe players would be attending the meeting. The meeting would also give an opportunity to Dalmiya to discuss with UCBSA President the “confusion” over the itinerary of the South African team’s tour of India in November this year. Last month also Dalmiya had been invited to mediate in the Zimbabwe crisis but after hectic telephonic discussions the crisis could only be averted temporarily with the Zimbabwe-Australia Test series scrapped at the eleventh hour to avoid the series being stripped of Test status by the ICC.
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LONDON: Sacked Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak asked the ICC to ban Zimbabwe from international cricket until an investigation into the allegation of racial discrimination is conducted by the governing body. According to Daily Telegraph, Streak said the ICC should examine the claims that he and 12 other rebel players had made and exclude Zimbabwe from all international cricket. “I don’t think that other countries should be playing Test or one-day cricket against Zimbabwe, home or away, until the current crisis has been resolved,’’ Streak was quoted as saying. “It’s a difficult one for the ICC, but they have to may be force the two parties involved to talk and to try to come up with some sort of resolution. I hope that things are redeemable and that the damage can be repaired. But there is increasing polarisation between the two parties, and the longer the dispute goes on, the more difficult it’s going to be to get an agreement,’’ he added. After joining Warwickshire, Streak said his demand for an international ban was based on cricketing rather than political grounds. “Players are being discriminated against because they are white, which is the main problem,’’ he said. Talking about his prospects of playing against for his country, Streak said, “I hope that my Zimbabwe career isn’t finished, but, in my heart of hearts, it’s difficult to see how I can play again unless the ICC get involved.’’ — PTI, UNI
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Bangalore, June 8 The injury-hit Baroda left-arm seamer has returned home after a short stint with Surrey in England and the bowler would now be looking to regain top fitness. Others attending the camp include Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Avishkar Salvi and Amit Bhandari. Emphasising that the focus would be on fitness, King said the bowlers would undergo normal training involving core stability, flexibility, cardio-vascular and endurance exercises. “The guys will do a bit of bowling and throwing,” he added. King said he would also take stock of the fitness levels of the bowlers, and the progress they made during the off-season. He said since the bowlers had taken a break, their fitness levels had gone down a bit which was normal and expected.
Four trainees of NCA — V R V Singh, R P Singh, D K Mungraj and Saurav Sarkar — have also joined the camp. Others attending the camp are: Siddarth Trivedi, D T Kumaran, Munaf Patel, Sree Santh, S S Paul, S Mathur, N C Aiyappa, Gagandeep Singh, Joginder Sharma and Fazil Mohammed.
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Balaji trying to “master” line and length
Bangalore, June 8 Balaji told reporters on the sidelines of the fitness camp for pace bowlers here that he had six sessions with the “very supportive” Hendrick during a recent visit when he was part of a company team (Chemplast Sanmar) that played against Nottingham countyside. Describing his interaction with Hendrick as “very good”, the Tamil Nadu youngster, who proved to be a revelation for India during the recent tour of Pakistan, said the tips pertained to delivery style, run-up, rhythm, pace and making the batsman wait for balls. “It’s like what Srinath and Zaheer are doing.... I have been trying to get that,” he added. Balaji said he was currently working on his line and length and trying to “master that”. His personal goal for the coming season was to become very strong mentally and physically. Balaji said the four-Test series against Australia at home later this year was very important and that it was going to be very tough for everyone. “Last season was very good, now we have to recreate that performance,” he said. Balaji said as the coming season was going to be hectic, he would try to get into top shape at the ongoing camp and overcome the lag in fitness during the off-season. “I want to prepare for the coming Asia Cup and Test series against Australia,” he said. Balaji disclosed that he had undergone a three-week training recently where the focus was on swimming and cycling and not on bowling at all. — PTI
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Bangladesh collapse to innings defeat
Kingston, June 8 Bangladesh, who resumed at 66 for three chasing down a first innings deficit of 275, fell away dramatically in the last 35 minutes of the morning session and were eventually bowled out for 176 just after lunch. The defeat was Bangladesh’s 7th in 30 Tests and gave the West Indies a 1-0 victory in the two-match series. The home team, becalmed for the first hour and a half, suddenly sprung to life to claim six wickets for 10 runs in the space of eight overs before lunch. Scoreboard Bangladesh (2nd innings): Omar c D.R. Smith b Best 5 Sarkar lbw b Collins 10 Bashar lbw b Collins 77 Saleh c D.R. Smith
Rana c Lara b Banks 35 Ashraful c Lara b Sarwan 9 Rahman c
D.R.
Mashud c Sarwan b Banks 0 Rafique b Collins 2 Baisya c Sarwan b Collins 3 Aziz not out 5 Extras
(b8, lb6, w8, nb8) 30 Total (51 overs, all out) 176 Fall of wickets:
1-16, 2-24, 3-34, 4-154, 5-154, 6-154, 7-155, 8-160, 9-164 Bowling:
Collins 18-3-53-6; Best 10-0-32-1; Banks 13-2-40-2; Gayle 2-0-9-0; D.R. Smith 5-1-19-0; Sarwan 3-1-9-1.
— AP |
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Shoaib pleads for inclusion Islamabad, June 8 “I am making a satisfactory recovery from my rib cage injury and it is not giving me any serious problems now. I am keen to play in the Asia Cup if the board reconsider their advice to the selectors,” said Shoaib, who is currently playing for English county Durham. The PCB had advised the selectors not to consider Shoaib for selection for Asia Cup, starting in Sri Lanka on July 16, as he was not fully fit and even Durham had asked it to use the bowler sparingly. But Shoaib said he had resumed playing matches for Durham and was feeling much better. “I am playing in only selected matches but I am not feeling any pain. I have made good progress under the supervision of specialists and trainers,” he was quoted as saying from Durham in local daily ‘The News’. The fast bowler also defended his decision to bowl in the last two matches for Durham despite having said before that he would only bat as he did not want to exert himself too much.
— PTI
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Unity and calm bode well for Italy
For months now Trapattoni’s starting 11 has been fixed, with only injury likely to alter his plans.
Not even the tactical formation, a topic that can occupy hours of discussion in Italian bars, is in much doubt ahead of the group C matches with Denmark, their first opponents on June 14, Sweden and
Bulgaria. Trapattoni has made clear he will play with a four-man defence, two defensive midfielder, two attacking midfielders, including his main creative force Francesco Totti and a front pairing of Christian Vieri and probably Alessandro Del
Piero. Del Piero’s position is under question due to his disappointing form in the second half of the Serie A season and he faces a challenge from Roma youngster Antonio
Cassano. The Juventus forward still looks to be favourite to start, given his ability to play in a wider role on the left and bring balance to Trapattoni’s formation. The only other question mark is who will be the other creative midfielder on the
right. Juventus’s Argentine-born winger Mauro Camoranesi was the preferred option through most of the qualifying campaign but Lazio’s Stefano Fiore ended the season in top form. However, Fiore has struggled with an injury in recent weeks and missed the last warm-up game in Tunisia, opening the door again to
Camoranesi. All in all though there is a rare stability, unity and calm surrounding the
Azzurri. Some voices in the media would like to see a role given to Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo but Trapattoni has been loyal to his central midfield pairing of Cristiano Zanetti and Simone Perrotta and looks unlikely to spring any surprises. The defence picks itself with Christian
Panucci, Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta sure of a starting place in front of the first choice keeper Gianluigi
Buffon. It is an attacking formation, with Totti given licence to roam, Del Piero likely to pull wide on the left and Fiore or Camoranesi expected to provide the crosses to Vieri from the right. The big question is whether Trapattoni will maintain such an offensive line-up if the pressure is turned on. Italy went into the World Cup in South Korea and Japan with a similar three-pronged attack. But on the eve of the tournament Trapattoni switched to a more traditional 4-4-2 with the result that the entertaining, attacking football of the qualification campaign was replaced by a more defensive
approach. Trapattoni was criticised after an uninspired Italy were eliminated by the Koreans in the second round and that failure may give him the courage to stick to his guns this time. There is another good reason to stick with the current formation. The Italy squad is unusual in being made up entirely of home-based players and most are used to playing with a
Totti-style playmaker in the hole behind the strikers. — Reuters |
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Euro 2004: France-England tie to set tone
Though it is hosts Portugal who set the tournament ball rolling on Saturday with a match against dark horses Greece at the home of European club champions Porto and Spain then face Russia in Faro on the Algarve, it is France versus England in Lisbon a day later which will really turn up the heat. The old rivals have over the past decade been locked in an ever tighter embrace at club level with a succession of top French stars and coaches bringing their Gallic grace to an English Premiership transformed by their presence. Arsene Wenger, in taking the reins at Arsenal eight years ago, has managed to have a profound effect on football in his homeland with his stable of French stars brought to Highbury in turn fuelling a brilliant French run to the 1998 World Cup and then Euro 2000. In nurturing the career of striker Thierry Henry — a gangly teenage winger at first under Wenger at Monaco — as well as the likes of midfield dynamo Robert Pires — Wenger has given his club a shoal of silverware and his country the key to glory. Wenger’s triumphs, including two league and FA Cup doubles, as well as the more modest record of former Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier, will have a profound impact on ‘Les Bleus’ whether they win, lose or draw against England and whether or not they then can sink Croatia and Switzerland. For France coach Jacques Santini, unable to persuade the French Football Federation to extend his contract prior to the championships, will next season sit opposite Wenger having announced last week he is joining the Gunners’ north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. France had the best qualifying record of any side as they mastered a weak group whereas England edged out Turkey, third at the last World Cup but who promptly flunked their play-off to Euro virgins Latvia. England have never reached a European final but victory over the holders would raise their self-belief to stratospheric levels. England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson insists his men will have both of their injury doubts, skipper David Beckham and defender John Terry, in their ranks. Beckham had an injection in a cyst on his back after playing the first half of the 6-1 friendly drubbing of Iceland but Eriksson says he will face the French. “I can guarantee you that it is no problem,” said Eriksson. “He went to the doctors but he is absolutely okay, believe me.” Of Terry’s hamstring strain, Eriksson added before flying out to Lisbon yesterday: “The doctors say he will be ready for France.” — AFP
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Usha may run in Olympic torch relay New Delhi, June 8 Mr Kalmadi said P.T. Usha, who had not figured in the original list, has been extended an invitation by the IOA, and she has agreed to participate in the relay run. Usha is the first woman athlete of the country, who came close to winning an Olympic medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Games when she missed the 400m hurdles bronze by a whisker. Special athlete for torch relay NEW DELHI: The Olympic torch relay in the city on Thursday would have a touch of glamour with the torchbearers’ list featuring names like Aamir Khan and Vivek Oberoi. Along with these reel life heroes, there will be a real life hero too to carry the flame and make it a special occasion. Arja, a special athlete, will be running for a cause when he covers the stretch on the Netaji Subhash Chandra Marg, near
Daryaganj. — UNI
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Village girls to vie for top honours Harwant Kaur and Rajwant Kaur have been selected to represent the country in discus and relay events. Father of Harwant, Hardev Singh, a farmer by occupation, said the entire family was very happy that their daughter had excelled in her chosen field. She had put in efforts with dedication and perseverance to achieve her aim. Harwant was an active player since her school days and won several prizes at the state level. After she passed out 12th class from Mata Ganga Girls College, she got admission in Punjabi University, Patiala. She secured fourth places in discus throw and shot put in the 13th Asian Athletic Championship held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2000. The same year she bagged gold in discus throw in national athletic championship. She took silver maedal in the Asian Track and Field events organised in Sri Lanka. She improved the distance in the next event-Grand Prix meet held in Hyderabad by throwing discus to 60.10 m and secured silver medal. While studying in the Punjabi University, Patiala she claimed a gold medal in discus throw in the all-India inter university athletics for women and got a silver in shot put in the year 1998. Rajwant Kaur, a distant relative of Harwant, lives near Harwant’s house. She took to athletics at 16 and soon carved a place for her. Daughter of a hockey player Sardara Singh, she clinched three gold medals (200 m, 400 m and 4x400 m) and a bronze in 800 m races in world police meet held in Barcelona, Spain in 2003. A head constable in Punjab Police she set a new record in all-India Police meet in 200 metre sprinter by covering the distance in a little over 24 seconds.
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Lisbon, June 8
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